The Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments for Quebec Seats [ARCHIVED CONTENT]

The Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments for Quebec Seats (Advisory Board) is an independent and non-partisan body whose mandate is to provide non-binding merit-based recommendations to the Prime Minister on Supreme Court of Canada appointments.

Membership of the Advisory Board

Under the Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Canada and Quebec, the independent and non-partisan Advisory Board for this process is composed of eight members, all of whom must be functionally bilingual. These are:

  • two members, including the Chair of the Advisory Board, nominated by the federal Minister of Justice;
  • two members, including at least one who is not a practising lawyer, nominated by Quebec's Minister of Justice;
  • a judge from Quebec who is retired from a superior court of Quebec or from the Supreme Court of Canada, nominated by the Canadian Judicial Council;
  • a lawyer who is a member of the Barreau du Québec, nominated by the Barreau du Québec;
  • a lawyer who is a member of the Barreau du Québec, nominated by the Canadian Bar Association – Québec Division;
  • a legal scholar nominated by the Deans of the Quebec Law Faculties and of the Civil Law Section of the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law.

The Advisory Board is supported by the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs.